The present disclosure relates generally to mounting structures, and especially to mounting structures for vehicle headlamp reflectors.
In the automotive market, headlamp reflectors are often manufactured using thermoplastic or thermoset material. Conventional designs based upon thermoplastic or thermoset reflectors, however, often introduce high levels of induced stress and deformation during both the aiming process as well as thermal expansion which can result in the distortion of the reflector beam pattern. Also, sink marks on the reflector front surface can occur during injection molding due to the features on the rear side of the reflector and uneven shrinkage during cooling.
Accordingly, what is needed is a mounting structure configured for use with a headlamp reflector that can, for example, avoid sink marks on the reflector front surface, enable a defect free molded part, reduce induced stress on the reflector, and/or reduce distortion of the beam patterns.